Looking toward the future, Condit says that he is now weighing whether or not to run for an eighth term. The most recent polls in his 18th congressional district, until now known as Condit country, indicate that a majority of his constituents, who in 2000 handed him 67 percent of the vote, no longer support him. Local papers have called for his resignation, among them the Modesto Bee, which concluded that he "knowingly hindered--if not obstructed -- the police investigation." Adds Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters: "There's a lot of pressure on him not to run. But, at least financially, he needs to run. He needs money. He has no wealth, no other job to fall back on. He has zip."

But Condit says he will not give up: "I will sit down and talk to people in my district. I will talk to my family.... I will trust the people. They'll figure out what they think of this, what parts of it are important." He is, he says, "a stand-up guy."

-- JILL SMOLOWE
-- CHAMP CLARK, ELIZABETH LEONARD and COLLEEN O'CONNOR in Beverly Hills, RON ARIAS in Los Angeles and J. TODD FOSTER in Washington, D.C.